Paying off a Gambling Debt
by Riwa
Brenda took a deep breath. Then she submerged to the bottom rung of the pool ladder. She grabbed on and settled in for a nice, long breath-hold.
Her son was going to be home from work in a couple hours. And she wanted to be ready for him. She had her eye on an attractive cocktail dress as well as a new pair of shoes. And she was going to get Georgie to pay for them.
Lately he’d become easy to manipulate. All she had to do was hold her breath for a lengthy period of time underwater. And with the right outfit showing off her cleavage and athletically sculpted body, she always had him eating out of her hand.
Today she was wearing a skimpy black bikini top that simply could not contain her breasts. She was also wearing a thong bottom. She liked how sexy it felt on her. Besides, it served a useful purpose.
She knew how much her son stared at her whenever she was wearing it. To be honest, she loved the way it turned him on. It made him much easier to manipulate whenever she wanted money out of him.
She checked the watch on her wrist to see how long she’d been under. It was the one her son had given her for using to practice holding her breath. It was waterproof, and she used it whenever she wanted to check on her progress or improve her time.
She suspected Georgie was going to push her lungs again as soon as he got home. But she didn’t mind, not if he paid her for it. She would hold her breath for as long as necessary if it meant getting money for the clothes she wanted.
She felt the gentle heaves in her stomach at around 1:50. She had to smile at how well she’d learned to hold her breath. At first it had been a challenge just to reach 1:30. Now on a good day she was reaching nearly twice that.
She smiled as the watch showed she’d passed 2:10. This one felt like it was going to be a challenge. But she was determined to make it to 3:00.
At 2:25 the contractions in her stomach really started to show. She could feel them trying to push up into her chest. But she stubbornly pushed onward, as nothing was going to get in the way of her getting that money for the clothes she wanted.
At 2:37 her double Ds began to bounce gently as her chest heaved. It made her concerned she might not make this one after all. But Brenda told herself she was going to reach 3:00.
At 2:48 she really began to suffer. Her lungs were on fire, her stomach contracting noticeably as her boobs bounced. Surely she could hold it 12 more seconds, right?
She lost a burst of air at 2:53… another burst at 2:56. The last four seconds were agonizing. But the moment she made 3:00 she shot up to the surface, releasing the last of her breath along the way.
She burst up gasping loudly. That’s when she saw three pairs of black dress shoes looking back at her from the side of the pool. When she looked up she saw three men standing there in sharp looking, black business suits.
“Who are you?” she demanded. “My son doesn’t take kindly to strangers in his back yard.”
“We’re here for the money, Brenda.”
“What money?”
“The money you owe… your gambling debts, remember? You asked for another week and we gave you two. Did you think we had forgotten?”
“Look, I asked my son for the money, ok? But he won’t give it to me all at once. He’s parceling it out a little at a time. I told you it’s going to take a while.”
“We’ve given you more than enough time to pay up, Brenda. We want our money now. So where is it?”
“I told you I don’t have it. Georgie is paying me a little at a time for my breath-holding. That’s why I’m out here in the pool.”
She caught them staring at her body. It made her smile playfully. “Can I do something for you to help pay off my gambling debt?” She thought showing off with a little swim or striptease in the water might help her out of this situation, at least for now.
“Yes you can, Brenda,” the one in charge told her emotionlessly. “You can tell us where you’re keeping the money.”
“I told you I haven’t got it! My son’s parceling it out to me. You’ll get it when I get it; it’s as simple as that!”
“Not good enough.”
“It’s the best I can do.”
She saw a fourth man emerge out of her son’s house, the home he was letting her live in for the time being. He had a few bills in his hand. “I found these in the desk, Hans. But it’s not nearly enough.”
“Hey! You can’t take that! That belongs to Georgie!”
“Where’s the rest of it, Brenda?”
“I tell you I haven’t got it!”
Hans snapped his fingers at one of his goons. The henchman went over and picked up the pool skimmer. Brenda saw him bring it over, and it gave her a shiver of alarm.
“You say your son pays you to hold your breath?”
“Yes, he does,” she answered proudly. “I’m quite good at it.”
“Show me.” That’s when he motioned at his underling holding the pool skimmer.
The man promptly pushed it down on her, snaring her head in the netting. Brenda bubbled as she was forced underwater. She struggled to get back to the surface. But the skimmer on her head kept her submerged.
She finally settled down, deciding not to fight it anymore. Struggling would only use up her oxygen reserves, preventing her from holding her breath for very long. Maybe she could get these men to subtract part of what she owed them if she held her breath for them.
She tried to relax as the netting to the pool skimmer forced her toward the bottom. It occurred to her she could swim down out of the bothersome object and escape. But that might antagonize the man named Hans even more. So she decided against it for now.
The strain of holding her breath settled in her stomach, sending contractions up into her chest. She looked up and lost a burst of air. She tried clawing at the skimmer to pry it away. But the goon just kept forcing it down upon her head.
She lost another burst of bubbles as the urge to panic intensified. She couldn’t hold it much longer. What if the bastard was going to drown her??
She finally clawed the net off her head and shot up to the surface. She burst up gasping loudly for breath. It felt like she’d been down for a long time.
“There, I can do it, ok?”
“Maybe we should talk to your son,” Hans observed ominously. He sounded like he might be willing to cause harm to her child.
Brenda was unmoved. “If you hurt him, you won’t get any more money. He’s the one who pays me. He keeps it all in a bank somewhere.”
“It would be a shame if something were to happen to him.”
“So what. That just means I won’t get the money and neither will you. That would be stupid.”
“Something bad happening to your son would be stupid, Brenda?”
“I told you he only pays me a little at a time. I can’t get it out of him any faster, ok? Go ahead and kill him if you must. But it won’t get you any closer to the money I owe you.”
“You don’t care if we kill him, Brenda?” In response she shrugged her shoulders as though she couldn’t stop him.
“Your response surprises me.”
“So what. I’m just his mother. Big deal.”
“Perhaps we can get it out of you another way.” And with a nod, the goon with the net pushed down on her head again.
Brenda got a quick breath before she went down. This time she was annoyed with the net. She quickly got out from underneath and then swam to the middle of the deep end where the pool skimmer wasn’t long enough to reach her.
Hans reached into his pocket and pulled out a revolver. Brenda gasped with fright. “If you kill me, you won’t see a cent of that money!”
“Boss?” the man who’d emerged from the house told him, getting his attention. “I found the controls to the pool cover.” And with that he activated the switch.
There was a loud hum as the cover emerged from the shallow end and flowed the length of the pool. It was sectioned off in partitions, unfolding to lie flat upon the surface. It was of a transparent material, some sort of glass or plastic.
Brenda let out a cry alarm as the cover came toward her. She started to swim for the deep end, only for a shot to ring out. The water in front of her kicked up spray from the entry of a bullet.
“Stay right there, Brenda,” Hans warned.
“You can’t do this to me!”
“You said you could hold your breath. Let’s see how long you can do it.”
“I’ll hold it if you’ll let me work off my debt to you; ok?” In response he just aimed his gun right at her. “All right – all right; I’ll hold my breath!”
She waited until the closing cover approached her position. Then she took as big a breath as she could. She submerged as the next to last partition unfolded right over the top of her.
For a moment she started to swim toward the end of the pool. But it was already too late. The last partition of the cover unfolded before making contact with the edge of the pool, sealing her in.
There was no point trying to stay near the surface now. They weren’t going to let her out until they made her hold her breath. Brenda stopped treading water, allowing her muscle-bound form to slowly sink to the bottom.
She went all the way down and sat on her ass. She’d parked herself on the bottom on her butt for her son many times before. But now she had no choice. Maybe they would let her out after she’d held her breath for a really long time.
She tried to relax as she settled in for a nice, long lung-buster. She had no idea how long they were going to keep her submerged. Maybe Georgie would get off work early enough to come home and save her from these morons.
She listened to the quiet hum of the pool filter as she looked up at the surface. The three men were right there looking down on her. Maybe her sexy body and her skimpy bikini would incite them to spare her long enough to earn her a little more time to pay off her debts. After all, she was good at pleasing her son often enough to earn a little extra spending money by holding her breath while wearing a sexy outfit.
She had no idea how long they were going to keep her down. She released a few bubbles out of her nose as she tried to remain calm. But eventually she felt those familiar contractions start up in her stomach. It made her regret not keeping track with her watch.
She looked up at the glass cover and tried not to panic. Panic would only use up her breath faster, leading to her lungs giving out sooner. She was capable of holding her breath for a really long time if she just relaxed and didn’t freak out.
The contractions in her stomach grew worse. She could feel them moving up into her chest. She looked up at the surface again, letting the guys see her chest. Perhaps they would be turned on enough to open the cover back up.
The contractions got worse until she couldn’t stay down any longer. She swam up over to the end of the pool where she pushed up on the cover from underneath. But it was solid… and there wasn’t so much as a bubble of air she could get to!
Her lungs really started to hurt as she pushed up harder against the cover. How long were they going to keep her down here? Where the hell was Georgie??
She started losing bursts of air out of her mouth as she palmed the glass above her. Then she started pounding on it with her fists. Her chest heaved, her boobs bouncing as she beat on it.
Her lungs were on fire; it hurt like hell and she was getting dizzy. She screamed her breath away as a contraction nearly doubled her over. Then the cover started to retract from the edge of the pool.
Brenda shot up through the opening and gasped wildly for breath as the cover stopped a couple partitions away. Two of the business suits smiled appreciatively at her as though enjoying her body and her abilities. But Hans was stoic as ever.
“That’s not bad, Brenda. Gruber here timed you to 3:30. Quite impressive.”
Is that… enough to… lower… my debt?”
“Perhaps. I think one more breath-hold might convince me. Are you willing? Or should I just shoot you right now?”
“No – no; I’ll hold my breath for you… anything to lower my debt so Georgie can pay it off eventually.”
“Your son… you don’t seem to mind if I might have him murdered?”
“What is that to me?” she said with a dismissive wave. “I just live here. He pays me to hold my breath. That’s all he is to me… money and a place to live.”
“An interesting perspective. Very well. Shall we try again? Can you go longer?”
“Yes! I can go longer! Lower my debt and I’ll prove it to you!”
“Let’s see how long you can go, Brenda.” Then he started counting down from ten.
Brenda took a couple deep breaths to expand her lungs. If they were going to push her to 4:00, she would really need to concentrate. It was scary, but she believed she could push it another 30 seconds if she had to.
When he reached the end of his countdown, the cover was activated. It started to move toward the end of the pool. Brenda took a really big breath before she went under the surface, checking the watch on her wrist to mark the time.
She looked up and watched with dismay as the cover sealed her in. She tried to relax, allowing herself to sink to the bottom. Then she settled onto her ass again as she mentally prepared for a really long breath-hold.
This time Brenda closed her eyes. There was no point batting her lashes at the men above. They seemed impervious to a woman’s charms, especially her with her skimpy bathing suit. It was a shame too. She would have considered having sex with any or all of them if it would have meant paying down her gambling debt.
She didn’t bother looking at her watch. There was no point. It would only make her anxious to keep checking to see if she was getting closer to her appointed time before she was allowed back up to taste air again.
She focused on the sounds in the pool and the feel of the cool water on her skin. She got a mental image of the dress she wanted, picturing in her mind how good she would look in it. She imagined wearing the shoes Georgie would end up paying for from her breath-holds… imagined herself proudly strolling down the sidewalk in her new clothes.
Brenda felt a small contraction in her stomach, indicating the stressful part was about to begin. She tried to swallow it back down. Then she felt another. Now it was going to get harder. She would really have to focus.
Bubbles trickled out of her nose as she tried to swallow more contractions back down. She released a little more air out of her mouth to ease the strain. But the burn in her lungs was getting worse
How long had it been? She was afraid to look. She didn’t want to discover she still had a lot of time left to go, even though it felt like she’d been down for quite a while.
The contractions in her stomach moved up into her chest. Her breasts began to bounce as she experienced more convulsions. That was it; she had to find out how much longer she had left.
Brenda opened her eyes and looked at her watch. She was already at 3:08, an impressive feat. She still had almost a minute to go. But she was sure she could do it if she pushed herself.
She released more air out of her nose to ease the burn in her lungs. It only helped a little. Her stomach was rippling, her chest heaving.
She tried again to picture herself in that dress she wanted. But her lungs were really hurting. She checked her watch again.
3:27.
She pushed off the bottom, heading for the cover. She wanted to be right there when it opened. She felt so heavy with empty lungs; it was hard to stay up near the surface.
She risked another glance at her watch. It read 3:39. Gawd; her lungs ached!
She told herself to hold on as the contractions in her stomach got worse. She felt an incredible urge to inhale. Damn; this was hard!
She checked her watch again. It read 3:49. Eleven more seconds and it would all be over… eleven long, agonizing seconds.
She looked up at the men in the black suits. They were still there watching her as they stood along the side of the pool. Hans was emotionless, although the others seemed more appreciative of her efforts. Was it her skill they admired, or was it her body? She suspected it might be the latter, especially with her bikini showing off her sexy assets.
She risked another look at her watch. Five… four… three… Her lungs were on fire, her chest heaving constantly as her stomach contracted. She was losing her breath in little bursts now.
At 4:00 she shot up, only to find the cover had not yet opened. Were they pushing her to go longer?? Her chest was really heaving now. The pain in her lungs was unbelievable.
She was getting dizzy and disoriented as she palmed the bottom of the cover with her hands. What if she blacked out down here? Would they get her out in time?
There was no movement on Hans’ part. She began slapping the cover, pushing up against it as more air slipped past her lips… “Open up, damn you!” He just watched impassively as another painful spasm almost doubled her over.
She began beating on the cover with her fists… “LET ME OUT – LET ME OUT!” She had just enough presence of mind to check her watch. It read 4:10. What the hell was taking so damned long??
She saw Hans shake his head at her. Gruber lifted up a hand with all the fingers displayed. Five minutes?? She was supposed to hold her breath five minutes??
Her eyes flew open in horror. There was no way she could stay down that long, was there?? The contractions in her stomach were insistent, her lungs demanding she inhale.
She shook her head and screamed her breath away. She really wanted to breathe. It hurt so bad!
At 4:22 she reflexively took a breath. She got water down her windpipe, causing it to close off completely. Now she could neither inhale nor exhale.
She coughed a burst of bubbles as she started thrashing about, gulping down water again and again. Her eyes widened in horror as she flailed for the cover. But now she was swallowing water as she began sinking downward toward the bottom.
She waved her arms at the surface as she tried to cry out. But she could no longer get any sound past her vocal cords. Then her windpipe opened back up.
Brenda began inhaling water, her chest convulsing painfully as she hitched and convulsed. She coughed up fewer and fewer bubbles as her lungs flooded. Then she slowly settled upon the floor of the pool on her back, looking up with a horrified expression.
She couldn’t see them anymore. What the hell happened?? She had pretty decent eyesight underwater. What was going on??
The pain lessened as consciousness started to fade. The last thing she thought was that Georgie would pay extra if she could reach four minutes. Then her senses collapsed all around her as her consciousness faded away into oblivion.
Hans looked down impassively, watching as stray bubbles slipped out of her opened mouth. He saw her arms twitch a little, saw one leg jerk as though a stray nerve ending had just fired. Then Gruber told him, “4:22, boss. She started to drown at 4:22.”
“She’s still down there, gentlemen,” he replied quietly, nodding at the body in the water. “You can see she managed to stay underwater for five full minutes. I’d say she’s successfully paid off her gambling debt.” Then he turned and walked away as though that was the end of the matter. The cover was left in place as he and his men left the back yard, leaving Brenda sprawled lifelessly at the bottom of her son’s pool.
© 2018 (written for Georgie and Brenda Jan 29 ’18 by riwa)